A Brunch Mix-up

Dave Kerr chose to replace the Cointreau with Blue Curacao to create "The Corpse Reviver Number Blue".

Photography: Brook James

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Dave Kerr chose to replace the Cointreau with Blue Curacao to create "The Corpse Reviver Number Blue".

Photography: Brook James

1/25

Photography: Brook James

1/25

Published on 22 April 2015

by Nick Connellan

In the realm of brunch cocktails, the Bloody Mary is the world’s most famous drink. With vitamin-rich tomato juice and fragrant spices, it’s the perfect accompaniment to your bacon. But it’s not the only one out there.

In fact, there’s a whole host of cocktails worth your attention. We got in touch with Dave Kerr at World Class Drinking venue The Beaufort to talk us through one of his favourites: a Prohibition-era fancy known as Corpse Reviver #2. A bartender at the Beaufort kindly whipped up a batch for us to shoot, too.

The Corpse Reviver family of drinks has been around for at least 120 years, though sadly, most of the recipes have been lost to time. Thankfully, #1 and #2 were recorded in Harry Craddocks’ famous The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.

No. 2 pairs the aromatic herbals found in absinthe and gin with bitter citrus notes. Kerr says. “It's well-balanced and the hint of absinthe provides an intrusive nose to the drink."

Fill a martini glass or coupette with ice, add 10mls of absinthe and fill the glass with water. Add remaining ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake vigorously. Discard the contents of your cocktail glass, leaving an absinthe rinse. Strain the cocktail into the glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Dave Kerr enjoys a bit of bartender humour and chose to replace the Cointreau with Blue Curaçao to make the Corpse Reviver Number Blue (pictured). It works surprisingly well as a lighter version of the original.

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